Old Dominion Bar Association
"Virginia's Advocates for Equal Justice"
"Virginia's Advocates for Equal Justice"
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
S. Howard Woodson, III, President
Greetings,
Welcome to the Old Dominion Bar Association (ODBA)
website.
It is with great honor that I serve as President of the Old
Dominion Bar Association in this it’s 65th year. During
my term, I am committed to serve with distinction and to
faithfully carry on the tradition of dedicated service that
started with our first president, Oliver White Hill, Esq, and
that has continued throughout the last 65 years with other
ODBA Presidents.
Although ODBA members once were considered as strictly
civil rights attorneys, we now come from all walks of the
legal profession – solo practitioners, associates and
partners in small and big firms, civil rights organizations,
government and corporate America, and academia. Yet, as
it is written in our history, “From the need to confront a policy
that offended personal and professional dignity, to the need
to associate for personal and professional growth and
development…” our mission holds constant – we are
committed to advancing the concerns of the African American
community at large and creating opportunities for our
members in the legal profession.
Today, just as in 1942, we are advocating for those in our
community who need competent, sensitive and committed
legal professionals upon whom they can depend. We are
speaking out on judicial selections to ensure our judiciary
reflects every sector of our population. We are positioning
our members on Boards and Commissions in the
Commonwealth where they can impact on policies affecting
every segment of our society. In short, the ODBA is alive and
well.
For the past 65 years we have been and will continue to be,
Virginia’s “Advocates for Equal Justice.” On behalf of the
Board of Directors and the elected officers, if you are not
already a member, I invite you to join with us in fulfilling our
mission.
Sincerely,
S. Howard Woodson, III, Esq.
S. Howard Woodson, III, President
Greetings,
Welcome to the Old Dominion Bar Association (ODBA)
website.
It is with great honor that I serve as President of the Old
Dominion Bar Association in this it’s 65th year. During
my term, I am committed to serve with distinction and to
faithfully carry on the tradition of dedicated service that
started with our first president, Oliver White Hill, Esq, and
that has continued throughout the last 65 years with other
ODBA Presidents.
Although ODBA members once were considered as strictly
civil rights attorneys, we now come from all walks of the
legal profession – solo practitioners, associates and
partners in small and big firms, civil rights organizations,
government and corporate America, and academia. Yet, as
it is written in our history, “From the need to confront a policy
that offended personal and professional dignity, to the need
to associate for personal and professional growth and
development…” our mission holds constant – we are
committed to advancing the concerns of the African American
community at large and creating opportunities for our
members in the legal profession.
Today, just as in 1942, we are advocating for those in our
community who need competent, sensitive and committed
legal professionals upon whom they can depend. We are
speaking out on judicial selections to ensure our judiciary
reflects every sector of our population. We are positioning
our members on Boards and Commissions in the
Commonwealth where they can impact on policies affecting
every segment of our society. In short, the ODBA is alive and
well.
For the past 65 years we have been and will continue to be,
Virginia’s “Advocates for Equal Justice.” On behalf of the
Board of Directors and the elected officers, if you are not
already a member, I invite you to join with us in fulfilling our
mission.
Sincerely,
S. Howard Woodson, III, Esq.
IN THE NEWS...
2008 Annual Meeting News
May 29 to June 1, 2008
The Old Dominion Bar Association will hold
its 68th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton
West Hotel in Richmond. Beginning with a
Thursday evening reception honoring
government attorneys at the Black History
and Cultural Center in Richmond, the
conference will offer an exciting program of
continuing legal education courses,
interesting speakers and enjoyable
activities for participants and their families,
including fabulous hot stone chair
massages, a refereed bid whist
tournament and a 9-hole golf tournament at
the Crossings. Free babysitting is available
if the request is received by May 15, 2008.
Election of officers who will serve for the
next two years will occur at this meeting. If
you are interested in serving as an officer,
or know of someone interested, please
contact Regina Sykes at
Akalaw08@hotmail.com. Click below for
the schedule of events, registration form,
bid whist tournament rules and golf
tournament rules.
To reserve a hotel room at the discounted
ODBA rate, click here.
Judicial Appointments
On Wednesday April 23, 2008, the General
Assembly appointed three African-
Americans to judgeships. With his
elevation to the Alexandria Circuit Court
bench, Nolan D. Dawkins, Chief Judge of
the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic
Relations Court, became the first African
American to serve on the Alexandria Circuit
Court. Judge Dawkins, a native of
Alexandria, served on the Juvenile and
Domestic Relations Court for fourteen
years and is a long time member of Old
Dominion Bar Association. Richmond
attorney Marilynn C. Goss, Managing
Attorney at Central Virginia Legal Aid
Society, Inc. and a substitute judge, was
appointed to serve on the Richmond
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. A
graduate of the T. C. Williams School of
Law in Richmond, Judge Goss practiced
the full range of poverty law for twenty-five
years. She is a long time member and
former president of Old Dominion Bar
Association. Marjorie A. Arrington, Norfolk
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney since
2001, was appointed to serve on the
Chesapeake Circuit Court. Judge
Arrington, a graduate of the Walter F.
George School of Law in Macon, Georgia,
began her legal career as an attorney for
Tidewater Legal Aid Society. Before joining
the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney
Office, she was a prosecutor in Portsmouth
and Suffolk.
Former ODBA President Remembered
Former Old Dominion Bar Association
President Judge John W. Scott, Jr., 59, died
unexpectedly on April 16, 2008, as he was
leaving Johns Hopkins Hospital after eye
surgery. A Circuit Court judge since 1989,
Judge Scott sat primarily in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. He became the first African-
American judge in the area when he was
appointed to the Stafford County General
District Court Bench. He was a graduate of
the University of Virginia School of Law and
worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
before joining Hill, Tucker & Marsh, the
Richmond law firm renowned for its civil
rights work. Judge Scott, a long-time
member of the Old Dominion Bar
Association, is survived by his wife, Alda
White, Esq., and three sons. A memorial
service was held for Judge Scott on
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at James Monroe
High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
DAVID BAUGH APPOINTED AS CAPITAL
DEFENDER
On March 1, 2008 renowned defense
attorney David P. Baugh, Esq. replaced
John B. Boatright III as the capital defender
for the Central Virginia office of the Indigent
Defense Commission. Baugh, a former
Assistant United States Attorney for the
Eastern District of Texas and the Eastern
District of Virginia, received the Virginia
State Bar’s Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono
Award in 2006. The American Bar
Association named him “Human Rights
Hero” in 2006, as well. During his career
Baugh has represented unpopular
defendants, including a terrorist and a Ku
Klux Klan member. Attorney Baugh is a
member of the Old Dominion Bar
Association.
OTHER HEADLINES
OLD DOMINION BAR ASSOCIATION
WINTER MEETING HELD AT T.C. WILLIAMS
SCHOOL OF LAW
RETIRED JUDGE JAMES MADISON
WALTON, SR. DIES
For more news and events, please click
here.
2008 Annual Meeting News
May 29 to June 1, 2008
The Old Dominion Bar Association will hold
its 68th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton
West Hotel in Richmond. Beginning with a
Thursday evening reception honoring
government attorneys at the Black History
and Cultural Center in Richmond, the
conference will offer an exciting program of
continuing legal education courses,
interesting speakers and enjoyable
activities for participants and their families,
including fabulous hot stone chair
massages, a refereed bid whist
tournament and a 9-hole golf tournament at
the Crossings. Free babysitting is available
if the request is received by May 15, 2008.
Election of officers who will serve for the
next two years will occur at this meeting. If
you are interested in serving as an officer,
or know of someone interested, please
contact Regina Sykes at
Akalaw08@hotmail.com. Click below for
the schedule of events, registration form,
bid whist tournament rules and golf
tournament rules.
To reserve a hotel room at the discounted
ODBA rate, click here.
Judicial Appointments
On Wednesday April 23, 2008, the General
Assembly appointed three African-
Americans to judgeships. With his
elevation to the Alexandria Circuit Court
bench, Nolan D. Dawkins, Chief Judge of
the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic
Relations Court, became the first African
American to serve on the Alexandria Circuit
Court. Judge Dawkins, a native of
Alexandria, served on the Juvenile and
Domestic Relations Court for fourteen
years and is a long time member of Old
Dominion Bar Association. Richmond
attorney Marilynn C. Goss, Managing
Attorney at Central Virginia Legal Aid
Society, Inc. and a substitute judge, was
appointed to serve on the Richmond
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. A
graduate of the T. C. Williams School of
Law in Richmond, Judge Goss practiced
the full range of poverty law for twenty-five
years. She is a long time member and
former president of Old Dominion Bar
Association. Marjorie A. Arrington, Norfolk
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney since
2001, was appointed to serve on the
Chesapeake Circuit Court. Judge
Arrington, a graduate of the Walter F.
George School of Law in Macon, Georgia,
began her legal career as an attorney for
Tidewater Legal Aid Society. Before joining
the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney
Office, she was a prosecutor in Portsmouth
and Suffolk.
Former ODBA President Remembered
Former Old Dominion Bar Association
President Judge John W. Scott, Jr., 59, died
unexpectedly on April 16, 2008, as he was
leaving Johns Hopkins Hospital after eye
surgery. A Circuit Court judge since 1989,
Judge Scott sat primarily in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. He became the first African-
American judge in the area when he was
appointed to the Stafford County General
District Court Bench. He was a graduate of
the University of Virginia School of Law and
worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
before joining Hill, Tucker & Marsh, the
Richmond law firm renowned for its civil
rights work. Judge Scott, a long-time
member of the Old Dominion Bar
Association, is survived by his wife, Alda
White, Esq., and three sons. A memorial
service was held for Judge Scott on
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at James Monroe
High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
DAVID BAUGH APPOINTED AS CAPITAL
DEFENDER
On March 1, 2008 renowned defense
attorney David P. Baugh, Esq. replaced
John B. Boatright III as the capital defender
for the Central Virginia office of the Indigent
Defense Commission. Baugh, a former
Assistant United States Attorney for the
Eastern District of Texas and the Eastern
District of Virginia, received the Virginia
State Bar’s Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono
Award in 2006. The American Bar
Association named him “Human Rights
Hero” in 2006, as well. During his career
Baugh has represented unpopular
defendants, including a terrorist and a Ku
Klux Klan member. Attorney Baugh is a
member of the Old Dominion Bar
Association.
OTHER HEADLINES
OLD DOMINION BAR ASSOCIATION
WINTER MEETING HELD AT T.C. WILLIAMS
SCHOOL OF LAW
RETIRED JUDGE JAMES MADISON
WALTON, SR. DIES
For more news and events, please click
here.
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